5 Dress

Isla

I remember the last time that I was in Londinium. Grandmother had taken me to the Dragon Temple. It was required for all girls to be presented to the Priestess before their ninth winter solstice.

Since I was born on the morning of the Solstice, I had to go early. The priestess pricked my finger, and the blood was forced to drip into the fire. I don’t know what the Priestess saw, but it scared Grandmother.

When the weather warmed up, we went north, just below the wall. That’s when she started teaching me about the black trees. Around Londinium, the trees had been outlawed by the previous jarl. When I was forced to go live with my father and his family, I took roots from the trees and planted them in the apple orchard.

I gave the trees daily blessings and prayers. The black trees grew with their gnarled limbs and rough bark. The white trees grew with smooth bark and wispy limbs. Both grew to only half the height of the apple trees.

As we make our way through the city, I’m assaulted with new sights and sounds. The scents are amazing. Spices. Perfumes. Cooked meats.

The wagon stops outside a large manor house, and I assume that this is where I will meet my husband. I never thought that I would have one of those. Especially after I came to live with my father. He would prefer that he be able to forget that I ever existed.

After tonight, he’ll be able to.

Mother takes me inside and we go up to a room on the second floor. Clutching my small bag to my chest, I am filled with fear. A large metal tub sits in the room with water that is still steaming. There are three maids standing around the room waiting.

Waiting to assist me to undress. That is something that I cannot do. I cannot undress in front of them. I cannot get in that bath. I am sure that you see my fear and for once, my stepmother is kind.

“Go on,” Mother says. “I want this time with my daughter.”

The maids leave and Mother turns to look at me. My eyes land on Gretta and mom gives her a small purse of coins. My *twin sister leaves to do something for Mother. When it is just the two of us in the room, her kindness is gone.

“I know that you are shy, but this is ridiculous.”

Because of my leg, I cannot move fast enough to get away from her. She grabs my hair and starts to tear at my dress and kirtle. Like all the other clothes that I own, they are threadbare and rip easily.

As she starts to pull the sleeve off my arm, I start to fight her. I don’t care if she rips all of my hair out. I cannot let her expose the mark. Not here. Not with the Dragon Temple within the view from the window.

“Damn it, Isla!” she hisses at me as she tosses me to the side.

I stretch my arms out to catch myself on the edge of the tub. Stumbling, I am unable to stop myself. The rolled edge of the metal hits my chest above my breasts and my arms slide into the water.

Moving as quickly as I could, I move towards the small bag of my items that I was allowed to bring with me. The black root perfume is in the bag; I need to cover my skin and hide myself from the dragons.

Something tugs at my arm, but I’m focused on getting the perfume and salve. My arm is released and I reach for the bag. Mother’s gasp causes me to realize that she has pulled off my sleeve *and my strip of wool cloth.

“What is that?” she hisses at me.

Turning to look at her over my shoulder, I ask; “What does it look like?”

“You were marked.”

I see it. The moment that she realizes that they can sell me to the Dragon Temple. I shake my head as I cover myself with the perfume.

“They’ll pay for you,” her eyes move to the window.

“How much do you think they will pay?” I ask her while I rub the oils and herbs into my skin. “With my twisted leg and bruises,” her eyes drop to my chest that is already changing colors.

“But you’re marked…”

“And my father has already signed a contract with the jarl,” I pull myself to my feet. “Can you afford to pay the bride price?”

It dawns on her that if she turns me over to the Temple, they will end up owing more than what the sacrifice payment will pay them. As I cover my mark, she moves to the dresses to find one that will hide the mark and the new bruises.

This dress is one of the styles that the women of the Dragon Cult wear. I remember it from when I was marked. But they do not wear a shift under it. They wear it just as it is, displaying their marks with pride.

She helps me pull on a golden, long-sleeved shift. I hold the decorative black corset over my breasts while my stepmother laces and ties it in the back. The heavy layered skirt is lifted over my head and lowered to rest on my hips. The waistline angles down and my stepmother adjusts the stays on the sides.

Meanwhile the multiple layers of the skirt are just a little shorter in the front than in the back. I wonder if it is because of the chains that they wear on their ankles. Grandmother said it was a sign of their servitude. She had cut my chains off.

I pull on my nice shoes, the ones that I only wear for special occasions. One shoe has been modified for my left leg being shorter. I see that she wants to say something about it as she holds the elegant gold-colored shoes.

“My shoe has been fixed, if I wear that one, I will limp. Do you want me to limp going to my husband who seems to be a member of the Dragon Cult?”

Shaking her head, she tucks the shoes into her bag that she brought. Of course, she is going to use me to get as much as she can. Leaving me to suffer the consequences of theft.

Once I’m dressed, and wearing my red shoes, she lets the maids back in. They obviously are not impressed with the long shift that I am wearing under the black dress.

“My daughter is very shy,” Mother says and the maids accept this explanation.

Gretta arrived and gave the maid that was braiding my hair a small bag with the hair charms that were placed on the table next to me. I watched as she carefully picked out the metal and bone charms that would be used.

I sat still as my hair was pulled this way and that. The charms and bells were woven into the braids. My eyes were lined with kohl which was a first for me. A veil made of fine chains was placed over the lower half of my face.

The maids dressed Gretta and her mother as my hair was styled. When she was done, the maid had me stand up and used ties to lift the skirts a few inches. Seeing my confusion, she smiled at me.

“It will keep the skirts out of the mud.”

Just before we left, they placed a sheer cloak on me. It was black with gold embellishments. There is a hood on it that is anchored to my head with a dragon wing diadem. Whoever I am marrying is obviously a high rank in the cult.